Giving In
by WildheartTheWarrior
Summary: "And so he gave in to the demons screaming for blood inside of him. He gave in to the voices that screamed for vengeance. He gave in until there was nothing left of what had once been the kind young tom but blood, pain, and hate..." For the Monthly Writing Challenge on the Warriors Challenge Forum.


He ran without caring which direction he was going. He stumbled past trees and over roots and stones, green eyes wild and mouth agape as he struggled for breath.

There was no goal in his mind. No goal but to run, run and escape.

For soon, the sun would set, taking all the light with it.

And _they_ would come back.

And as he ran, he prayed, hurling desperate pleas for help into whatever band of ancestors walked this sky.

He prayed that his mind would not desert him again.

* * *

_"Careful there, little brother!" Thorn smiled down at him, a twinkle of amusement in his bright amber eyes. He lifted his paw to bat gently at the much smaller tom. "Those claws of yours will get you into trouble one day!"_

_Razor laughed, ducking the big tabby's blow and dropping the frog he had been carrying in his mouth._

_"Little?" Their sister, Jade, was watching them from the shade of a pine tree, eyes glittering mischievously. "He might be little, but he sure makes up for it!"_

_Thorn chuckled quietly, turning to face the golden she-cat. It was then that Razor seized his chance. He leapt forward, pouncing onto his big brother and battering playfully at his belly fur._

_"Stop it!" the dark tabby exclaimed in mock fear. "That tickles!" Then he rolled over, squashing Razor beneath him._

_"Careful!" Jade said. "You'll hurt him!"_

_Thorn jumped off of the tiny brown-and-white tom, letting him up. Razor felt a flash of anger briefly run through him; what happened to making up for his size? But then he let his fur flatten. Jade never meant any harm. She just wanted to make sure he was kept safe._

_"Well, enough of that," she said, stretching in the sun and getting to her paws. Her green eyes had a hopeful gleam in them. "Did you find any food?" she asked._

_Razor smiled and nodded once. He picked up the frog he'd brought into their makeshift camp and brought it over to them. "It almost got away, but I grabbed it by the leg," he said proudly. "I know it's not much, but—"_

_"It's enough," Jade said, laying her tail across his shoulders. She smiled. "Thank you, Razor."_

_The small rogue family of three gently bent down and began to share the catch. It wasn't long before the scrawny frog had been stripped down to the bones, and soon they disappeared as well._

_Razor gnawed hungrily at the frog's leg bone; it had been the first decent meal he'd had in days. Beside him, Thorn crunched another one in his massive jaws._

_His ears twitched as the wind brought a faint, whispering voice to his ear. But he ignored it, as he always did. They never had much to say._

_But this time, they grew more insistent. Their voices were frightened._

Danger. Bad. Listen. Run. Run. _Run._

_Razor was about to tell the stupid fools to shut up and leave him alone—when he suddenly lifted his head without conscious thought. There, on the breeze, was the faintest hint of cat-scent. So faint he wouldn't have noticed it otherwise. And it was coming from directly behind them._

_Horror made his pelt stand on end. He leapt to his paws, ready to let out a cry of warning, just as a full patrol of Clan cats reared into the camp, claws unsheathed and teeth bared._

_Ready to fight. Ready to kill._

* * *

The whole world was tilting wildly around him. As he rushed through the bushes, plowing through thorns and brambles carelessly, he could see them. Their pelts, matted and torn. Their faces, devoid of every emotion. But their eyes…filled with nothing but pain. Pain, anguish and terror. The same emotions he had seen the day he'd watched them die.

_Help us!_ wailed Thorn's voice in his mind. His older brother had always been the strong one, the brave one. But now he sounded as terrified and weak as a kits.

_Please!_ his brother screamed again. _Brother! Help us!_

No. He couldn't listen. _They_ would come.

But it was too late. Out of the shadows they slunk, pelts ragged and eyes dull. The tormented spirits of the dead added their thin voices to the din, keening pitifully for his aid. The voices filled his head, resounding within his head and leaving his ears ringing in pain.

His paw suddenly caught on a tree root. The air rushed past him as he was hurled through the air, crashing to the ground with a hard thud. He tried to climb back to his paws—only to come face to face with an all-too-familiar pair of green eyes.

_Why?_ Jade whispered hoarsely. _Why won't you help us?_

He whipped away, crawling in the opposite direction. "No," he moaned piteously. "G-go away! Go away! All of you!"

But they would not leave him in peace. The spirits of the dead crowded ever closer, yowling for vengeance.

_Why won't you let us rest in peace?_ his brother and sister screamed in unison. _We must be avenged! We must rest in peace!_

Razor clamped his paws down over his ears, digging his claws in. His head was pounding, his ears were ringing—

They would not leave. They would never leave.

And that same scene, the one from moons ago, played itself over and over in his head. The massive Clan tom, throwing brave Thorn away like nothing and leaving him to die. Watching poor Jade screaming in fear as he descended on her, amber eyes blazing as he tore her apart.

No.

_No._

NO!

In that moment, something within the small tom's mind snapped.

He leapt to his paws, threw his head back, and let out a roar. A roar filled with raw fury and pain, so frightening that every tattered shade that had gathered drew back in fear.

After a lifetime of trying to drown out the whispering voices, and moons of the guilt of his siblings' deaths, what little remained of his sanity had deserted him. His green eyes blazing with pure insanity, he took off into the forest. Ready to destroy everything and everyone that was foolish enough to stray into his path.

_And so he gave in to the demons screaming for blood inside of him. He gave in to the voices that screamed for vengeance. He gave in until there was nothing left of what had once been the kind young tom but blood, pain, and hate._

Tonight, there would be no mercy. There would be revenge. The voices would go away forever.

And his agony would be over at last.

* * *

**Not quite as good as I wanted it to be, but there it is!**


End file.
